At the Coffee shop
by Snoring Tiger
Summary: One day Lili has to bring in a delivery for Eduard at his coffee shop. Soon they have a chat together. Estonia / Liechtenstein, Fluffy stuff. Coffee shop AU.


"Hello? Is a Mr. Eduard here?" Lili asked as she entered through the warm red door to the Estola coffee shop. She set her bundle of purple tulips down on one of the near wooden tables inside the shop and had a look around.

Even though she had been working at the flower shop just down the road for the past two months she had still never set foot here before. Therefore, she had never seen the intricate, light green pastel paint which coated over the walls which gave a small sense of warmth, she had never been able to observe the rich mahogany fan which slowly rotated; not too fast to actually cause a difference in temperature but slow enough to add to the fantasy charm. She never noticed all the enticing pastries out for display, covered in bright colours and mouth-watering sugar glaze.

"Yes? You called?" A teenage boy called. He was working on the till and was swiftly typing in some numbers and had not looked up to the addition in the coffee shop. Lili blinked as she heard the response and picked up the flowers and walked over to the till.

"Hello, t-these are from my boss," Lili slightly stuttered as she held out the armful of flowers for the boy to take. She looked down at the floor and felt embarrassed. Meeting people was most definitely not her strong point. At least her overbearing brother wasn't here otherwise she would feel more awkward. She could feel the boy's gaze on her as he pushed his glasses up his nose. He laughed and smiled.

"Ah, I see. Gosh, Tino still has to send me some flowers all the time, doesn't he?" He laughed as he took the flowers from Lili and placed them in a vase which already add some occupants.

"My boss sends you flowers often?" Lili curiously asked, now looking up and observing Eduard. His glasses made him seem older although his scruffy and untamed hair canceled some of the power of the glasses. The light green sweater he wore seemed to make his blue eyes stand out a bit more. She smiled. He seemed like a genuinely good person.

Eduard returned after putting the flowers in the vase and leaned over the glass casing for the pastries, smiling at Lili.

"So, if you don't mind can I ask for your name? It's not fair that you know mine but I don't know yours," He mockingly smiled. Lili blushed slightly.

"Sorry, where are my manners? My name's Lili and I've been working down at the flower shop for a couple of months now. It's a pleasure to meet you." She formally introduced herself as she stuck out a hand. Eduard's larger hand encased it in a soft handshake. Both of them were smiling but couldn't seem to keep eye contact with each other.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Lili. Would you care to buy some coffee while you're here?" Eduard asked after the silence which had been lingering for a few seconds was too much to bear. Lili nodded a bit too quickly.

"Yes please! Do you have any mocha coffee?" She quickly asked. Eduard chuckled.

"I believe you're trying to ask for a mocha." He laughed as she looked to the ground in embarrassment. He was already preparing the hot water and the right coffee beans. "Don't worry about it, Ms. Lili. Lots of people don't even know the difference from a cappuccino and a black coffee here." As he finished talking he handed her a steaming cup of mocha coffee.

"Well...I don't know the difference actually." Lili mumbled as she took the cup and dug through her small leather purse to try and find the money.

"It looks like you'll have to come back so I can teach you," Eduard held his hand up as she tried to pass the correct amount of money, "Don't worry, it's on me. You seem stressed from work and I'm thankful you made that delivery for me."

"Oh. Well then thank you very much then, Mr. Eduard," Lili's lips quirked upwards as she took her coffee and placed her money back in her purse. She turned around and began to walk out of the shop. "What a wonderful coffee shop you work in," Lili called over her shoulder.

"Thank you!" Eduard replied. Once he heard the ringing of the small bell above the door, Eduard groaned and rested his head on the glass casing.

How he hated talking to girls. Of course he liked girls; they're very pretty after all. That's the problem though. Whenever a pretty girl would talk to him he would just feel all awkward, like he was talking a different language. He had enough social skills to be able to maintain a basic conversation, but if he continued to talk with Lili any longer he was certain that the conversation would have petered out and that he would be left in awkward silence as he would be scrutinised by the pretty girl.

She wasn't just pretty though. Eduard thought she looked beautiful. The way that her short bangs framed her delicate face and bright, curious, sparkling green eyes, along with the pretty purple bow in her hair, her perfect sized lips and delicate blush. Everything about her was pretty. He was sure that even her toes would be special or-

Eduard slammed his head on the glass, enough to sting and cause a temporary headache. This trail of thought was ridiculous. He had only spoken to the girl for about three minutes maximum, plus what would be the odds that she returned?

"Are you alright, Eduard?" Toris came out of the kitchen, wiping his brow with his hand and looking concerned, "It is not usual for you to bang your head against the counter."

"Oh don't worry, I'm fine! Absolutely fine!" Eduard replied slightly too fast. "I was just inspecting the counter up close because I thought I saw a crack in the glass so I had to look at it clo-"

"You like Lili, don't you?"

It wasn't a threatening question. Toris asked it with a knowing look in his eyes and an expression between smiling and smirking. Estonia moved to his computer and his hands flew across the keys as he intensely stared at the screen, more so than needed. His face had a dusting of a blush on it.

"Of course not! She's just a customer who will never come here again. That's all." Toris sighed when Eduard made no move to continue the conversation and moved to go back into the kitchen.

Contrary to Eduard's belief, Lili returned to the shop in the middle of the day the next day. This time she didn't have any flowers with her.

"Hello? Mr. Eduard?" She called as the bell above the coffee shop's door rang. Eduard turned with a slight surprise to see her back.

"Hello there. Please, just Eduard's fine." He smiled as he stood up and made his way over to the glass casing to be closer to her. He still found himself intrigued by her large and innocent green eyes which seemed to have an extra sparkle. How were her eyes so round and big anyway?

"Alright then, Eduard." She smiled as she averted her eyes to the pastries which were out for display. She seemed to be scanning them well for a few seconds before she looked back up at Eduard.

"Could you possibly help me pick a cupcake for lunch please? All of them look delicious but I don't know which one to pick," Lili explained. Eduard laughed.

"And here I was expecting more flowers." When he saw a confused and slightly guilty look coming from Lili he held his hands up in defense. "I was just kidding!"

"Oh," Both of them awkwardly laughed.

"Alright then, how about I pick your lunch then. Please, take a seat down on the couch over there," Eduard pointed to a fluffy, light blue couch tucked into a corner at the back of the coffee shop with a little glass table besides it.

"Thank you. Oh, and pick one out for you as well, if you want to! I don't know many people here you see. It can't hurt to make a new friend and you seem nice," Lili's face was crimson and she was looking at the floor as she said this. Not waiting for Eduard's rely, she hurried over to the couch and settled down, smoothing out some creases in her summer dress and busied herself while looking through her purse, her face still a vibrant shade of red.

Eduard was slightly surprised by this sudden offer and it took him a few seconds to remember that he had to pick out their lunch. His face began to heat up as he tried to find the perfect cake for Lili. He looked over the chocolate éclairs which were oozing with thick cream but decided that would be too messy. Eduard dismissed the jam dough nuts as they would be sticky and he was sure she would get embarrassed if her hands were sticky; from what he could tell she seemed very cleanly. In the end, he picked out two fairy cakes with strawberry icing on top. He hastily added a couple of white chocolate sprinkles onto Lili's fairy cake before taking both the plates over to where the couch was.

"Oh, thank you," Lili smiled as she shuffled slightly to make room for Eduard. Eduard placed the plate down in front of her.

"I thought that you might like strawberries, please tell me if you don't like it though," Eduard explained as he picked up his own cupcake. He waited for her to start eating first. She took a small and delicate bite (How she managed to eat a fairy cake elegantly and without getting any icing on her lips he would never know) and shut her eyes to savour the taste. Right as she swallowed her eyes opened wide and she began to giggle slightly.

"That was very tasty, Eduard," Lili shyly explained as she took another bite. Eduard felt his heart begin to swell and fill with heat, though why he had no idea. He felt his cheeks heat up. He coughed into his hand and didn't miss the curious and entertained look coming from Lili.

"So, er, Lili, care to tell me about yourself?" Eduard ran a hand through his hair in an attempt to save some of his dignity.

"What do you want to know? Also you have icing in your hair," Lili laughed as she picked up the napkin on her plate and wiped it out, Eduard blushing furiously and sputtering the whole time.

"I apologise for that," Eduard awkwardly replied, playing with his hands. "Can we just forget about that?"

"Fine by me," Lili shrugged her shoulders. They caught each other's eyes and smiled.

"So tell me about what you like to do for fun then," Eduard picked up his fairy cake and took a smaller bite as he waited for her response.

She looked thoughtful before replying "Well I do like shopping for clothes. Clothes are just really pretty and the colours and textures really fascinate me. Please don't think I'm boring!" She added as she held her hands up in a mock show of defeat, "I just like to admire things that look nice."

"That explains why you're wearing such a pretty dress today then," Eduard replied without thinking. It was silent between them for a few seconds, with Eduard taking his glasses off his ears and polishing them with the bottom of his work shirt furiously and Lili curling her fingers around the hem of her soft summer dress.

"Erm, please continue," Eduard adjusted his glasses as he slipped them back on and motioned with his hand for Lili to continue.

"I like to bake. I can make cookies the best but that's as far as my abilities go in that area," Lili ran a finger through her hair and stopped for a couple of seconds to tighten the ribbon in her hair.

"I'm guessing that you used to like tea parties when you were younger?" Eduard asked curiously. She nodded.

"Yes, they were a lot of fun! My brother would never join in though."

"That's a shame, it sounds like you would have hosted great parties." Lili giggled and flushed out of happiness.

"I also like to be on the computer," Lili said, "I don't know that many people here so I spend some time on line. It's quite fun!" Eduard couldn't believe his luck. He would rub his glasses once again to confirm he could see Lili there but he felt that she would find him weird for cleaning his glasses twice in the space of a minute.

"Really? I love computers too! Technology in general," Eduard enthusiastically replied. Lili laughed at how happy his face looked.

"Technology is a great thing, isn't it? It's fascinating to think how machines work. I have a fondness of the computer though, mostly because through the Internet I can watch television which is handy because I can't afford my own television yet," Lili explained, taking a big bite of her cake after speaking.

"I'm the same! Plus the Internet is just so helpful to keep in touch with people overseas! What shows do you like to watch?" Lili fidgeted and looked out of the window.

"You'll make fun of me if I tell you."

"I would never!" Eduard indignantly replied in mock horror. Lili looked and was silent for a few seconds before sighing and looking at the cake in her hands.

"I like to watch My Little Ponies. It reminds me of when I was a child and back home where I would watch it all the time!" Lili quickly explained, putting her cake back on the plate so she could emphasise her point with hand gestures. Eduard burst out laughing.

"You said you wouldn't make fun of me!" Lili exclaimed as she looked down at her lap. Eduard continued to laugh and only stopped when he saw the serious look on her face. He straightened up and patted her softly on the back.

"No, I'm not making fun of you! Actually, I like that show too!" She looked up, her interest piqued.

"Really?"

"Eheheh, yeah! A couple of my friends and I watch it together and it's a lot of fun. Maybe one day we could watch it together while having a tea party?" Eduard grinned. Lili seemed to think about this for a second before laughing and nodding.

"That sounds like a lot of fun!" Lili looked over at the clock hanging on the other side of the coffee shop and groaned loudly.

"What's wrong?" Eduard asked, concern in his voice, "Are you late to your job?"

"I will be if I don't leave now, I don't want Mr. Tino to be left waiting," Lili explained as she stood up and smoothed her dress down. Eduard made a mental note to tell Tino to give Lili a longer lunch hour.

"I see. Let me at least walk you to the door here then," Eduard also got up and held out his elbow. Lili happily slid her hand through it and hung on to the crook of his elbow as they walked through the shop.

"You really are a sweet man, Eduard," Lili hummed happily. His ears turned red as he opened the door to the cafe for her.

"The least I can do to treat a lady like you. Now I can't leave here because I'm not on break so I hope you have a good day," He slowly took her hand off his elbow and held it up to his lips to kiss. Lili began to look flustered.

"I'll be back tomorrow!" She was already out the door and hurrying back to work as she said this. Eduard just leaned against the door frame of the shop and smiled happily. It wasn't for another few seconds until the weight of his actions hit him and his face turned bright red and he began to feel embarrassed. he slowly walked back into the shop and spent the rest of the day working diligently and eagerly anticipating tomorrow.


End file.
